Chapter 226
Chapter 226
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 226
Chapter Title: Land of the Forgotten (4)
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"What?"
[Well, no. I only saw that Master person for a split second, so you don't have to take it to heart. It wasn't a definite feeling, and my memories are hazy since I'm dead.]
Whether because the summon's duration was up, Jacob's spirit began to grow transparent.
At that, a look of delight quickly spread across Jacob's face.
[Ended right on time. Man, I'm finally free from this bastard's grasp. Have a nice life, you crazy son of a bitch!]
The strange weight I'd felt in the hand holding the shackle vanished in an instant.
*Clank.*
The sound of the shackle, its target gone, hitting the floor was the only thing that echoed through the space.
Jacob's words kept circling in my mind, making it hard to look away from the shackle.
[A human with a similar feel to you? What kind of curse did he leave behind?]
"What did you say?"
[Ah, no. A blessing, a blessing. At least the Earth won't be destroyed!]
Waving his hands frantically, Besial quickly changed the subject.
[But what on earth could it mean?]
"...He might have been talking about the kind of confidence that comes from knowing a lot."
[You think so?]
I felt uneasy about it too.
Still, I had a feeling I would be meeting this "Master" person soon.
"Anyway, our business here is done, so let's get out. This isn't a good place to linger."
Stay here too long, and you become 'forgotten'.
Only the forgotten can exist in the world of the forgotten.
Becoming a resident of this place was something to always be wary of.
"You cannot leave."
But the gatekeeper stated it flatly.
"I've already earned the right to be here, and I'm not a resident. Why can't I leave?"
"It cannot be helped. That is the current policy. Once you come here, you cannot return."
"That rule didn't exist before."
The gatekeeper waved his hand as if he didn't want to talk anymore.
[Something's strange. Did something happen?]
'Looks like it.'
The Other Side was difficult to enter, but coming and going was easy once you earned the 'qualification' that Cheon-ryang kept emphasizing.
For him to be this firm could only mean some incident had occurred.
"This is a problem..."
Being 'forgotten' didn't just mean disappearing from people's memories.
It was the erasure of one's existence.
To become a being who was as good as dead, even while alive.
Simply put, you ceased to be human.
[Why not just force your way through? A mere Dokkaebi, not even a king, can't stop you.]
'I can't do that.'
I probably wouldn't come back to the Other Side, but making unnecessary enemies was never a good idea.
It was crystal clear that having more allies than enemies was better.
"Isn't it obvious? If the existence and location of this world were leaked to the outside, those damn humans would call us evil spirits and try to subjugate us again."
Cheon-ryang, who had appeared out of nowhere, irritably chugged his drink.
At first glance, it seemed like he was talking about something from the distant past, but as someone who played the original game, I knew immediately.
He was saying that because it had happened recently.
So this was why some of them had shown subtle hostility on my way to meet Cheon-ryang.
"So it's already happened."
"Yeah. We ran into some real nasty types. A huge pain in the ass. They keep tracking us, using strange tricks... If you really want to leave, why don't you drive them out?"
"I'll do that."
"Huh? Hey. Do you even know who they... Hey? Hey! You bastard!"
Ever since hearing Cheon-ryang's story, I'd been sensing a strange energy.
They had to be the vicious beasts.
If I stayed here too long, I'd be forced to become a 'resident' and would never be able to leave. I had to act fast.
[A Sub Quest has been generated.]
[Sub Quest - Demon and Demon]
The forgotten do not simply wish to disappear.
Thus, they yearn.
To gain a greater presence.
Thus, they aspire.
To possess the most outstanding presence.
For the most forgotten one is, therefore, not forgotten.
※Failure will result in your existence being devoured.
"...A sub quest?"
[It was deemed suitable for a sub quest, so I just made it one. If you're going to do it anyway, it's better to get a reward, right?]
Besial tilted his head.
If I was going to do it, it was better to have a reward.
He wasn't wrong.
However, this fundamentally implied a lot.
'It means I'm involved in something troublesome.'
The possibility of a sub quest meant there was a powerful villain, an enemy, at the center of it.
The Other Side didn't play a major role in the game, so I didn't know everything about it.
I'd need to gather some information.
Fortunately, there was no time limit, so I didn't have to resolve it right away.
'The most forgotten one' mentioned in the last line was likely the villain, but the lack of a time limit meant it wouldn't appear just because time passed.
"...No matter how you look at it, something suspicious has popped up."
Following the energy for a while, I came across something like an unfinished barrier.
It was hard to notice at a glance, but thanks to using Extreme Eye, I spotted it right away.
It was unnatural.
A barrier that felt completely out of place, as if something that didn't belong had been forcibly cut and pasted there.
I hesitated for a moment before crossing the barrier.
[Hey, Kim Se-hyeon! How can you be so careless? You don't even know what kind of barrier that is!]
"Looks like I hit the jackpot."
I smirked at the sight before me.
People in exotic attire stared at me in surprise, and beside them stood giants, seemingly under their control.
No, they were Oni.
[Onmyoji...?]
"I was wondering who it was. Looks like the Japanese have been meddling."
Dokkaebi and Oni did not get along.
Though both originated from the same character, 鬼, Korean Dokkaebi and Japanese Oni were fundamentally different.
At least, that was the lore in EOA.
'But they wouldn't have invaded the Other Side and waged a full-scale war like this.'
The answer came to me immediately.
It had to be the work of a Facilitator or a member of Salvatio in Japan.
Besides, there weren't that many Onmyoji.
To mobilize this many people... the Yamato Guild.
It could only be them.
“ここをどうやって発見したんだ, 貴様!”
One of the Onmyoji yelled at me in Japanese.
It seemed they had no intention of hiding the fact that Japan was behind this.
I clicked my tongue lightly and used a translation item.
"I don't know how you found this place, but you're out of luck! Just for seeing this, you are fated to die!"
"The trespassers sure have a lot to say. This is inside Yuldoguk, isn't it? You've set up an outpost here as you please. That path behind you leads to your side of the Other Side, right?"
"...If you know that much, then I have even more reason to kill you!"
The Onmyoji swung his ritual staff.
At that, the Oni, each with their own distinct features, began to circle me with thunderous footsteps.
'At best, they're low-tier C-rank demonic beasts.'
Oni were also divided by rank.
Among them, the famous ones from Japanese mythology, powerful enough to be called natural disasters, could rival Calamities or even surpass them. But the ones here were lower-class individuals, not even mentioned in myths.
Well, those Onmyoji didn't have impressive stats themselves, so they wouldn't be able to control powerful Oni.
"Go, Oni! Tear him to shreds!"
But the Oni didn't move.
*Thud.*
Their feet were still, but their bodies tried to move, causing them to fall forward.
The Oni themselves looked bewildered, as if they couldn't understand why they were falling.
"What did you expect to do with such weak underlings?"
*Swoosh.*
The Army of Darkness rose from behind each of the Oni.
Their feet severed, the immobilized Oni were slain anticlimactically, while the frozen Onmyoji struggled to comprehend the situation.
"Th... Wh-what...! Are you an Onmyoji too!? Or a summoner!?"
"Who knows. I'm not so sure myself. Want to take a guess?"
"Are you mocking us?! This isn't over!"
That one must be the leader.
I lightly stomped my foot.
The man, about to swing his ritual staff again, suddenly found his arm flying through the air.
"Ugh, uwaaaaaah!?"
"As if I'd let you."
I didn't take his head.
If I was going to interrogate someone, the leader would know the most.
[Wait. Kim Se-hyeon. I don't think you stopped it.]
*Thump, thump.*
Heavier footsteps than before echoed from deeper inside.
Its presence was also different from the others.
A-rank.
Something capable of easily annihilating a town was getting closer.
"Kugh... Y-you seem to be gravely mistaken, you fool...! Swinging the ritual staff means nothing...!"
"So it seems."
I hadn't seen many Onmyoji controlling Oni in EOA.
What Onmyoji did just felt like a form of Eastern magic.
Like the Eight Trigrams Formation that had just appeared beneath my feet.
"Seal of Suppression!"
The moment several Onmyoji chanted in unison, the formation flashed with a yellow light, creating a pillar of light.
I tapped the barrier of light to test it; it felt like thick glass.
It wasn't completely immobilizing, but it was a technique to prevent me from getting out.
[Why didn't you dodge it when you saw it coming?]
"I need to analyze their strength while they're off guard."
Since it was a technique cast by low-level Onmyoji, it was weak enough to shatter with just a little mana-infused strike.
It was strange that guys like these were handling an Oni stronger than them.
Even commanding an Oni of the same level should be quite difficult.
What trick did they use?
"Grrroooaaaar!!"
A blue-skinned Oni with a large horn on its forehead let out a monstrous roar.
It glanced around before ignoring everyone else and focusing its gaze on me.
'Are they using some kind of perception-lowering spell on everyone but the leader?'
Using a trick, it was possible to make an Oni stronger than yourself move as you pleased.
But I wasn't sure yet.
"Go, Blue Oni! Erase every trace of him!"
"Grrroooaaaar!!"
The Blue Oni answered the man's command with a deafening roar and threw a punch.
The air tore with the sound.
For a defense-specialized type, that level of attack power wasn't bad.
*CRASH!!*
With the sound of shattering glass, the barrier that had trapped me turned to dust and scattered.
The Blue Oni's fist continued to drive toward me, but...
*Shhhlick!*
With the sound of something being sliced, the Blue Oni's arm stopped dead in its tracks.
"What is it, Blue Oni! Why have you stopped!"
"Gr... uh...?"
That was the Blue Oni's final response.
Dozens of long lines appeared all over its body, and it began to separate along those lines.
"Huh...?"
The man who had been commanding the Blue Oni froze.
Even as I grabbed his face, he remained in a state of stunned confusion.
"H-how was the Blue Oni defeated so easily...?"
"From now on, I'll be the one asking questions. You just answer. For every lie you tell, one of your subordinates will lose their head."
"L-Leader!"
"Please save us!!"
My shadow soldiers had each seized an Onmyoji and were holding swords to their necks.
The man's face turned pale, and he bit his lip so hard it bled.
"...I-I'll answer. So please, don't harm my men."
"That depends on your cooperation. First question. Is the Yamato Guild backing you?"
"Yes."
Japan operated under a system where a single guild held a monopoly.
The Yamato Guild.
In other words, it was the perfect environment for a Facilitator from Salvatio to set up their schemes.
"Who ordered this?"
"That is..."
"No, let me be more specific. Who came up with this plan?"
"..."
The man went silent.
I clicked my tongue and released my grip.
A dead end. I wouldn't get anything from interrogating a guy like this.
'In that case.'
This is the only way.
I ordered my shadow soldiers to release most of the men.
They immediately started running without a single look back.
[Why are you letting them go?]
"I let them go on purpose. You've seen me do this a few times. And I didn't let all of them go."
I kept a few, including the leader, as hostages.
They yelled to be released too, but one glare from the shadow soldiers silenced them instantly.
"The moment they have hope of a rescue, they've already fallen into the trap."